The Super Falcons and Banyana Banyana, arguably the two most successful women’s national teams in Africa, will meet on Thursday in a play-off that neither side had planned to be playing, after both were eliminated at the quarter-final stage of the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.
Nigeria’s ten-time champions lost 1-0 to Cameroon, while South Africa, the reigning continental champions, fell to hosts Morocco, with both results costing the pair automatic tickets to the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Brazil, scheduled to run from June 24 to July 25 next year. The countries that won their quarter-final fixtures have already secured their places at the global showpiece, leaving Nigeria and South Africa to fight for one of two available CAF slots at the intercontinental play-offs, to be staged in two phases between November and February.
The fixture carries significant history. The two countries have met more than 23 times across friendlies, WAFCON and Olympic and World Cup qualifiers, with Nigeria holding the overall advantage with 15 victories.
That dominance, however, has narrowed in recent years, with South Africa beating Nigeria 2-1 in the group stage of the 2022 WAFCON on their way to winning their maiden continental title, before Nigeria responded by edging Banyana Banyana in a tight two-legged play-off to qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
